U.S. Credit Rating

The recent downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating reflects a measurable probability that an investor in U.S. Treasury securities would not be paid in full in nominal terms.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Campbell
John Campbell
Harvard
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Two scenarios are possible although unlikely (and the second more unlikely than the first): a short delay in payment caused by technical difficulties with the debt ceiling; and an attempt by the current administration to restructure the US Treasury debt.
Cochrane
John Cochrane
Hoover Institution Stanford
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
The question is about what a rating agency thinks, not markets. Well, they say what they think. Ratings agencies are there to forecast nominal default probabilities. US may choose to delay, restructure, etc. some debt. Has defaulted in the past.
Cornelli
Francesca Cornelli
Northwestern Kellogg
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Diamond
Douglas Diamond
Chicago Booth
Disagree
3
Bio/Vote History
Du
Wenxin Du
HBS
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
technical defaults are possible
Duffie
Darrell Duffie
Stanford
Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
It's not the downgrade itself, but the fiscal conditions reflected in the downgrade. Debt to GDP is at a record high and growing fast, with barely a sign of fiscal discipline and some loss of foreign trust in US institutional strengths.
Eberly
Janice Eberly
Northwestern Kellogg Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Fama
Eugene Fama
Chicago Booth
Disagree
9
Bio/Vote History
Gabaix
Xavier Gabaix
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Goldstein
Itay Goldstein
UPenn Wharton
Uncertain
8
Bio/Vote History
Graham
John Graham
Duke Fuqua
Strongly Disagree
9
Bio/Vote History
Harvey
Campbell R. Harvey
Duke Fuqua
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
The US can always print money to make payments-so, payments will not be missed. But the printing will cause inflation – and this is the way to reduce the obligation. In 1971, when we went off the gold standard, many called this a default. Similarly, monetization is the key risk.
Hong
Harrison Hong
Columbia
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Jiang
Wei Jiang
Emory Goizueta Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Kaplan
Steven Kaplan
Chicago Booth
Disagree
3
Bio/Vote History
Kashyap
Anil Kashyap
Chicago Booth
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Measurable is a very weak hurdle, hard to see any positive news that makes the US a better creditor. Let's see if the world shrugs off Section 899 of the House Bill.
-see background information here
Koijen
Ralph Koijen
Chicago Booth Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Kuhnen
Camelia Kuhnen
UNC Kenan-Flagler
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
Lo
Andrew Lo
MIT Sloan Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Lowry
Michelle Lowry
Drexel LeBow
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Ludvigson
Sydney Ludvigson
NYU
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Maggiori
Matteo Maggiori
Stanford GSB
Strongly Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
The US debt to GDP ratio is high, forecasted to increase, and at the same time the US administration is explicitly considering aloud measures akin to default.
Matvos
Gregor Matvos
Northwestern Kellogg Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Moskowitz
Tobias Moskowitz
Yale School of Management
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Nagel
Stefan Nagel
Chicago Booth
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
A substantial loss given default seems very unlikely (instead of inflating away the debt), but CDS spreads are substantial, which may reflect non-negligible probability of default (e.g. in debt ceiling event) and low price of cheapest-to-deliver security (30y issued in 2020)
-see background information here
Parker
Jonathan Parker
MIT Sloan
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Measurable. Not significant. But markets are forward looking, so it is already measurable.
-see background information here
-see background information here
-see background information here
Parlour
Christine Parlour
Berkeley Haas
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Philippon
Thomas Philippon
NYU Stern
Disagree
7
Bio/Vote History
Puri
Manju Puri
Duke Fuqua
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Roberts
Michael R. Roberts
UPenn Wharton
Uncertain
8
Bio/Vote History
Is this time different? Possibly with the current budget proposal. Bigger concern is ability of treasury to place longer term debt and a spike in yields.
Sapienza
Paola Sapienza
Hoover Institution Stanford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Seru
Amit Seru
Stanford GSB
Disagree
7
Bio/Vote History
Stambaugh
Robert Stambaugh
UPenn Wharton
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
Starks
Laura Starks
UT Austin McCombs Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Stein
Jeremy Stein
Harvard
Disagree
6
Bio/Vote History
Stroebel
Johannes Stroebel
NYU Stern
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Titman
Sheridan Titman
UT Austin McCombs
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Van Nieuwerburgh
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh
Columbia Business School Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Whited
Toni Whited
UMich Ross School
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History